Recent Posts

About

Rick Aristotle Munarriz has been a Motley Fool contributor since 1995, specializing in tech and consumer stocks. He's been part of the analyst team for the Motley Fool Rule Breakers newsletter service since its 2004 launch, serving as portfolio lead for the real-money Motley Fool Supernova service since its 2012 debut. Beyond amassing close to 20,000 bylines in that time, Rick still finds the time to tend to his collection of travel and entertainment websites through Siteclopedia.com and perform improvisational comedy at Miami's Just The Funny.
Follow Rick's Twitter feed @market or follow him on Google+. He can also be reached at aristotle@gmail.com

Taco Bell/AP
There will be a new player in the escalating battle for breakfast on Thursday when Yum Brands' (YUM) Taco Bell rolls out its new morning menu, and the stakes are huge.

McDonald's (MCD) is the name that most people associate with breakfast fast food. Ever since it introduced the Egg McMuffin in 1972, the world's largest burger flipper has set the bar for convenient morning meals for people on the go.

The Waffle Taco will likely be Taco Bell's signature breakfast item. The taco-shaped waffle wrapped around a sausage patty, scrambled eggs and cheese turned heads when it was tested in select locations late last year. However, it's just one of the many items wooing commuters.

Naturally there will be eggy breakfast burritos and grilled tacos with either bacon or sausage. The A.M. Crunchwrap gives a morning spin to the Crunchwrap Supreme by blanketing hash browns, scrambled eggs and either bacon or sausage in a pressed and folded flour tortilla.

Tough Competition

McDonald's is struggling these days, but it's still a fierce competitor when it comes to the first meal of the day. Just ask Burger King (BKW), which finds itself copying McDonald's more often than not, including hotcakes served with sausage and the Egg McMuffin. Just ask Wendy's (WEN), which retreated from its nationwide breakfast menu a couple of years ago. It's starting to work its way back in by introducing breakfast in some markets.

Even Starbucks (SBUX) has been feeling the threat of McDonald's as the burger giant beefs up its McCafe line, offering guests drive-thru convenience that many Starbucks locations cannot. Earlier this month Starbucks ran a three-day promotion where it offered free coffee to anyone ordering a breakfast sandwich. It was meant to remind customers that it offers more than just java.

Breakfast seems like an easy decision for a fast food leader. Who wouldn't want to milk more revenue out of a location by extending its operating hours? However, with Wendy's coming up short and even Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) dragging its feet, it's clearly not the no-brainer decision that it may seem on paper.

Search Jobs

Some have argued that the reason why comps at McDonald's have suffered later in the day recently is that it has strayed too far from its core burgers and fries.

Taco Bell has also dramatically widened its choices, but it's been holding up better in terms of sustaining its popularity. Its same-restaurant sales increased 3 percent last year, and that's a welcome contrast to declines at many other quick-service concepts, including Yum Brands' own KFC and Pizza Hut. Adding items have hurt some chains, but Taco Bell's been scoring with its chef-inspired bowls and Doritos-dusted tacos.

However, a lot of consumers already associate Taco Bell's traditional menu as either a late-night or early-morning meal. In 2007, its marketing department tried to introduce the "Fourthmeal," positioning its brand as a place for teens and young adults to grab a late-night meal beyond breakfast, lunch and dinner. The Waffle Taco and A.M. Crunchwrap will be incremental additions, but they ultimately won't move the needle in a material way.

Taco Bell is fast food but has been better than some. They have taken up the old practice of bait and switch. They started offering avocado bits for their tacos and I loved it, starting going there more often, then they switched to "avocado flavored ranch" not even close to having even a taste of avocado in it. I wonder if the "new" breakfast items will suffer the same fate?